Sea of Silence

Jacqueline Epskamp's screenplay about a ten-year-old girl with an alcoholic father might easily have become grim or treacly on-screen, but veteran Belgian director Stijn Coninx translates it into a moving and comical account of a family in spiritual crisis. The story takes place in the summer of 1969, mostly on the family pig farm, which is quaintly lacking in modern conveniences; the latter half of the 20th century intrudes only when the girl's aunt gives the family a television, on which they view the first moon landing. This 2003 feature ably evokes its era without going overboard, aided by sundry period details and a subtle use of pastel colors by cinematographer Walther Vanden Ende. In Dutch with subtitles. 120 min.
ByJoshua Katzman